8 Reasons Why Japan Has the World's Best Fast Food

American fast-food chains have managed to expand their gluttonous franchises to countries across the globe. While said countries may have embraced this very American institution, they have also managed to make them their own by infusing local flavors—sometimes driven by taste, sometimes by cultural norms—into the standard menus. This hybridization has resulted in some of the dopest fast-food creations in the game. From time to time, we take a look at how fast food is filtered through localized tastes.

We have already covered India, a country where chains have innovated their way around no-beef restrictions, and now we shift our sights to the only country that gives it some serious competition: Japan. This archipelago nation might be best known to foreigners for more refined culinary exports like sushi, but upgraded fast-food options are one of its secret weapons—even big-name chefs like David Chang can’t visit without pillaging local convenience stores like Lawson for next-level junk food. Major fast-food giants are constantly fighting to garner the most attention in a country that thrives on novelty, resulting in some of the craziest, most meme-worthy creations around. How do Japan’s fast-food chains win time and again? Let’s get into it…

The Addition of the Japanese Flavor Profile to American Dishes

Japan has adopted many American chains, and while they serve items typically found stateside such as French fries, the Japanese often add twists to the standard fare so that it is more geared toward the national palate. While KFC still serves the signature item, its Japanese menus also have Yuzu Fried Chicken, a riff on the classic featuring a dusting of aromatic yuzu shichimi. McDonald’s offers a very Japanese take on the very American cheeseburger with its Cheese Katsu Burger—the sandwich consists of a hamburger bun topped with a deep-fried pork cutlet stuffed with cheese, a layer of cabbage, and plenty of curry sauce. Even Starbucks, which very rarely changes its drink menu offerings internationally has a Frappuchino featuring squares of coffee jelly—a local favorite.

Next-Level Pizza Game

Pizza may be an American staple, but Japan has taken it to a whole new level. That stuffed crust Meat Lover’s pizza you thought was badass? Incredibly tame compared to the topping possibilities in Japan. Pizza Hut offers a variety of strange pies including the Mochi, Mentai, and Potato—a pie topped with mochi, shrimp, and mentaiko sauce—as well as the Mayo Q, which comes with BBQ chicken, mushrooms, corn, nori, and a grid of mayonnaise. At one point, Pizza Hut even sold a pie with mini corn dogs stuffed into the crust. Dominos Japan also has a variety of pizzas topped with mayo, shrimp, and corn, but its real menu gem is the adaptation of the French pastry classic, mille-feuille, into a full-blown pizza pie. As if that wasn’t next level enough, there’s even the option to purchase a version with four different quadrants of topping combinations.

Unfuckwittable in the Crazy Burgers Department

In the U.S., upscale restaurants relentlessly churn out highbrow patty riffs, and even chains are amping up their burger offerings, stacking them with different sauces, cheeses, and bacon. Still, they all look pretty analog in comparison to Japanese's futurist burger game. Not only do many chains produce a bevy of premium burgers using fancy-ass ingredients (keep reading), but their lowbrow versions are equally creative.
McDonald's Japan heavily features shrimp throughout the menu and even manages to turn the crustacean into a burger. The Ebi Filet-O is made from a patty of battered and fried shrimp topped with Thousand Island dressing and lettuce. The chain also offers the Gracoro burger—essentially Japan’s take on a croquette in sandwich form. The deep-fried patty, which consists of macaroni, shrimp, and white sauce, is squished between two buns alongside melty cheese and a sweet tonkatsu sauce.
If you believe a burger ain't a burger without beef, McDonald's also offers the Mega Tomago burger, which is essentially a classic Big Mac kicked to the next level with the addition of bacon and an egg patty. Burger King rocks the sweet and savory angle, too, with its BK Ringo Burger, which involves the addition slices of flame-grilled apples into a classic Whopper Jr. And if you’re fiending for both burgers and pizza, Burger King will let you have it your way with the NY Pizza Burger. This mammoth sandwich is a large beef patty topped with mozzarella, pepperoni, and marinara sauce that has been stacked onto a 9-1/2inch seeded hamburger bun.

The Homegrown Chains Are Mind Blowingly Awesome

In addition to remixing the American fast-food standards, the Japanese have also spawned plenty of their innovative chains. MOS Burger—which stands for Mountain Ocean Sun Burger—serves burgers on buns made of rice (!!) instead of bread. At Ichiran Ramen, you pay a machine, pick up your bowl of ramen, and sit in a single person booth, so you can eat your ramen solo and in peace. Genius and efficient. And then there are the beloved convenience stores, like Lawsons and 7-11, whose prepared food puts the heat lamp-shriveled hot dogs and taquitos of America to shame.

Reigning Champions of Seasonal Menu Items

The Japanese embrace novelty, especially when it comes to food. That means that fast-food chains are constantly offering up an ever-changing menu of seasonal, limited-time offerings that may only be available for a week, or at a singular location. Starbucks is a shining example of the country's seasonally oriented foodways. While the coffee chain is notoriously homogenous when it comes to international locations, the seasonal menu in Japan is a different story—it has featured everything from Tiramisu Frappuccinos to the Apple Crumble Latte (it comes sprinkled with shortbread cookie crumble), to the Sakura menu during the annual cherry blossom festival (the latter featured light pink hued beverages with cherry white chocolate flavoring). And you thought your half-caf-triple-soy-hazelnut-mint-extra-foamy-latte was game-changing?

The Japanese Are Fat Kids at Heart

America might have one of the highest obesity rates in the world (oh wait, now Mexico has the crown!), but the Japanese let their fat-kid flag fly when it comes to fast food. McDonald’s Japan holds the title of having the most caloric menu item with the introduction of the Mega Potato—essentially a container filled with nearly a pound of the brand’s signature fries. This “mega” theme continues over to the burger portion of the menu, where customers can indulge in the Mega Beef Mac—basically, a Big Mac on steroids with double meat and toppings. Burger King has a mind-blowing range of gut-busting options on the menu. The Rodeo Burger, which includes three beef patties, topped with six onion rings and mayo, looks like diet food compared to the Five Patty and Seven Patty Whoppers on offer. And even those look tame compared to the limited-time Big Bacon Bargain—which allows customers to add up to 15 strips of bacon for a very nominal fee—and the Meat Monster Burger, which loads two beef patties, a chicken breast, two slices of cheese, plenty of bacon, lettuce, tomato, and onion onto a seeded bun.

Highbrow Food at Lowbrow Prices

“Oh, you fancy huh?” may have been a rhetorical question posed by Drake, but Japan’s fast food game has definitely answered it with a big “HYFR.” In Japan, corporate chain are not necessarily analogous with cheap food products of questionable quality. When stateside, foie gras is typically served up in restaurants with Michelin stars next to their names. Find yourself near a Japanese Wendy’s, and for an affordable $16, you could be having foie gras burgers topped with a truffle sauce every night of the week—without having to sacrifice your life savings.
Even McDonald’s, the reigning international champ of cheapo fast food, has gotten on the finer foods train with its recent line of limited-edition Quarter Pounder Jewelry burgers, served in fancy boxes. The Gold Ring burger comes with pineapple, bacon, barbecue sauce, and Monterey Jack cheese, while the Ruby Spark comes topped with Pepper Jack cheese, avocado, and chorizo. Turn that jewelry burger into a “Jewelry Set” when you add fries and a soda to the meal and at One McDonald’s you’ll be allowed to sit in a special VIP section featuring bedazzled seats.
And fancified fast food isn’t limited to burgers in Japan—even pizza gets guzzied up. Domino’s is serving up a pizza topped with not only grilled eggplant and a truffled cheese sauce, but also slabs of sirloin steak as well. Not to be left behind, cheap-eats innovator Denny’s has a fancy-pants cut of cow on the menu as well. For about $15, diners can get a New Zealand beef filet, topped with foie gras, sliced truffles, and drizzled with a red wine reduction. Boom. Denny’s America, please step your game up.

Commitment to Innovation

If Americans created fast food, then the Japanese have managed to perfect it. Japan serves as the ground zero for innovation, with chain corporations constantly testing and launching novel products. Even if these companies are typically reserved when it comes to menu innovation on their home turf, they play by a different rule book in Japan, parading out what seems like an infinite variety of fast-food creations. Capturing Japan’s attention is so important to American fast food companies that they have engaged in all out advertising wars, leading to a rise in sophisticated and quirky additions to menus.

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